Positron
A Next Generation IDE from Posit
2025-04-28
What is Positron?
- Positron is a next-generation data science IDE (as opposed to software engineer IDE)
- Code-first mentality
- A polyglot IDE where you can do all your data science (currently support for just R and Python)
- Most IDEs out there built primarily for just one language (i.e. RStudio, Spyder, MATLAB)
- Uses languages as ‘language packs’ on the backend - highly extensible
Why Positron?
- You can use more than one language easily and seamlessly
- Extensible and familiar
- Design inspired by RStudio
- Fundamentals based on OpenOSS - the open-source foundation of VSCode
What does it look like?
- How / where running code
- File you’re running
- Sandbox for development
- Panes to understand code / data
What does it look like?
- How / where running code
- File you’re running
- Sandbox for development
- Panes to understand code / data
What does it look like?
How does it work? Extensibility
- Extensibility: languages are not ‘baked in’ - they come as ‘language ’packs’
- Programming languages communicate through an API with the IDE
- Switch between languages and language versions easily in same session using the interpreter selector
How Does it Work? Next-Gen Data Explorer
- Poitron has a next-generation data explorer built in
What does it look like? Next-Gen Data Explorer
What does it look like? Advanced Filtering in Data Explorer
Why a New IDE Rather Than Enhancing RStudio?
RStudio is a two-process system
Everything in the main RStudio window is one process that runs R, saves files, generating plots, everything else
- This is why RStudio bogs down when big R processes running
Outside the main RStudio window is Electron, the chrome ‘frame’ around RStudio
Why a New IDE Rather Than Enhancing RStudio?
Advantage of a Whole New IDE
Positron is a fork of CodeOSS, the open source foundation for VSCode
Taking CodeOSS Foundation and tooling it out for Data Science
Advantage of a Whole New IDE
In Positron, R and Python are extensions the communicate with Positron through it’s API
In RStudio, the IDE is itself part of the R process, so you get this:
How Positron Works as a Polyglot IDE
How Positron Works as a Polyglot IDE
Extensions - Lots of Them!
Extensions - Git in Positron
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